What is Your Fake Name?

Last week was TheLifeofTheParty's sixth birthday. Life is so uncomplicated when you are six years old. Birthdays for six year olds are pretty straight forward! Rather than having a special breakfast like everyone else gets, he is overjoyed to have his own little Spongebob cake (thanks to Wal-Mart) in our bed with everyone gathered around. I would never have dreamed of feeding my older children cake for breakfast when they were little. But after doing this mom thing for many years, you learn what will and what won't kill them (Maybe that is why grandparents have so much fun)and cake for breakfast is definitely in the "won't kill 'em category".

With the older children I search and pry for weeks on what is the latest thing, and how I can juggle things to afford it. With my son's birthday last week, I went to the store and picked up a Handy Manny and his talking tools, a helicopter with lots of lights and sounds, and LeapFrog letters toy and Viola! I WAS DONE. Outta there for under fifty dollars. No shopping prices on line, or comparing models, seeing what color it comes in or making sure I wasn't getting the same color as their friends.

Birthday dinners and parties fall in the same way. TheBelovedFirstBorn usually chooses the most expensive place in town and wants to eat the most expensive entree on his birthday, but TheLifeoftheParty wants to go to Chik-Fil-A and play on the in-door playground. I don't think the child even ate! That is another advantage of years of parenting experience. I would have fought with my other children, tied them to the chair until they ate their entire meal, and THEN let them go play. I don't know if I am just wiser now and understand the art of picking my battles, or if am I just lazy:) Whatever the case it makes for a more pleasant dining experience for all!

The best part of the evening came while I was sitting in the playground with TheLifeoftheParty and the two little ones. My six year old never meets a stranger. There was another little boy playing in the play area, and my son kept calling, "Hey, Friend! Come and let's ....." I suggested that he ask the little boy his name. So he proceeded with introductions and the other little boys said that his name was Sloan. "What?" said my son, "Sloan," said the other boy. TheLifeoftheParty dropped his eyebrows and got a serious look on his face. "Is that your real name or your fake name?", he asked. Sloan said that it was his real name. TheLifeoftheParty has never met another child named Sloan and obviously thought it was not a legit name for a boy. With the most straight little face, he looked at Sloan and said, "Well then what is your fake name?" When the Sloan stated that he did not have a fake name, he was given the name "Pringo" by my son. TheLifeoftheParty informed Pringo that his own fake name was Diego, and they picked back up with running and screaming down slides. My daughter and I sat and laughed at the exchange, and for the rest of the evening, we came up with fake names for the rest of us. If the name sounded too much like a stripper, it was thrown out.
What? Oh! My fake name ended up being Muffin. What is yours?